Skype Calls on U.S. Congress

Skype is now available to members of U.S. Congress, paving the way for VOIP communications as a substitute to pressing of the flesh for politicians who can't travel for meetings.

Skype doesn't require any
more legitimacy in the wake of being acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) for $8.5 billion. The
popular VOIP (Voice over IP) service got more anyway.

U.S. Congress members and
their staff can now use the PC calling network, as well as one provided by
ooVoo, to conduct video chat sessions with constituents and others with whom
they are accustomed to pressing palms in person.

"We are pleased to
announce that, after working with Republican leaders and various House
stakeholders, members and staff can now use popular video teleconferencing
services within the House network to communicate with constituents," wrote
Committee on House Administration Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., and House
Technology Operations Team Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, in a statement June
28.
"During a time when
Congress must do more with less, we believe that these low-cost, real-time
communication tools will be an effective way to inform and solicit feedback
from constituents."
Staci Pies, who works on Skype's
government relations team in North America, said this will help Congress chat with constituents who are unable to travel to
Washington, D.C., to meet on Capitol Hill and engage in virtual town hall
meetings from the road, among other work-related tasks.
This will reduce some of
the costs associated with travel and boost productivity in the
government sector, where time is duly valuable.
The move is a breakthrough for the government, which is often slow
to embrace newfangled technologies until they are battle tested to
secure.
Pies said Skype worked
closely with the Congressional network security team to ensure that the
computer calling service is used for official business.
For example, every
Congressional office will have their own Skype Manager account to allow one
person in each office to administer the Skype accounts. Congressional users may
also configure their own privacy.
The move to use Skype hews
closely with the goals of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who last
December announced a new Congressional calendar to spruce up efficiency of the
House.
Pies said Skype looks
forward to also work with the U.S. Senate and other government agencies and
lawmakers around the globe to use Skype to improve communications.
Microsoftbid to buy Skype in May and plans to insert the technology across Microsoft
products such as Windows Phone and Kinect, as well as its existing unified
communications services Lync and Messenger.
Skype has come
under fire of late for terminating employees, only to have some of them allege questionable
practices regarding their vested options.